I have my favorite pre Christmas album on – A Christmas To Remember by Amy Grant – and with headphones plugged in, thus we start. I try to cook with food that is seasonal and local – thus for me, this will be summer food. I know I have readers in the Northern Hemisphere – I can only hope this gives you some warm sunshine on a cold day, and know that I am jealous of your warm, delicious wintery food, and a white Christmas.
MEAL ONE
GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER? – MR BEAN!
As you can see, I have beans. Nessie picked these and also gave away handfuls to three neighbours. Nature believes in abundance, and we have an abundance of beans. There will be more to pick today. My bedroom opens to the garden, and whilst I am trying to sleep, this is what I hear…… Jude, come and pick me (mind you it is Nessie that is doing most of the picking, but they know my bedroom is closer) …..
You can see Scarlet Runner on the left, Purple King in the middle and Gourmet’s Delight on the right. There’s also Dragon Tongue (French Borlotti) – when allowed to get big on fat on the bush, gives you a plump borlotti bean.
Thus, dinner is defined – Minestrone with Pesto, the quintessential soup/stew, thick tonight with beans. You can dollop the pesto directly into the hot soup (the flavour will explode in your mouth) or spread it thickly on a quality sourdough bread. I’m using all varieties of beans – the fresh (but well developed) borlotti’s added at the beginning and given a head-start, and the others towards the end. Because it’s not a hugely filling meal, I think I’ll head to some Peach Anzac’s for dessert (you can find this recipe in my book, Coming Home to Eat). Oh, I’m using a red onion for my minestrone as I’ve just harvested those, and they are huge and delicious.
MR BEAN’S MINESTRONE:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion – roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried basil (but I used a really good handful of fresh, finely chopped)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (but I used a stem of fresh, finely chopped)
1/4 teaspoon ground fennel
3 stems celery, finely sliced
2 – 3 carrots, finely diced
350gm (12oz) orange sweet potato, roughly diced
1/2 cup fresh borlotti beans (this doesn’t mean the generic, dried borlotti bean, but fresh from the pod)
1 x 5cm piece Kombu sea vegetable
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
400 gm (14oz) tin tomatoes
1 – 2 teaspoons apple juice concentrate
freshly ground black pepper to taste
good handful (as many as you want, and you think will fit in the soup) beans, cut into 5cm lengths
1 – 2 zucchini – diced
1 teaspoon tamari
3 tablespoons fresh flat – leaf (Italian) parsley, roughly chopped
Gently heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion, garlic, herbs, celery, carrots and sweet potato, and gently saute over a medium heat for 5 – 8 minutes or until just lightly coloured. Add the borlotti beans, kombu and stock. Partly cover the pot with a lid and cook at a gentle simmer for 1 hour.
Remove the lid and add the tomatoes, 1 teaspoon apple juice concentrate, pepper and cook for another 30 minutes. Check the borlotti beans – they should be very soft and creamy – if still a little pebbly (they shouldn’t) give them a bit longer. Add the beans, zucchini and tamari and cook for a further 10 – 20 minutes. Check for taste and add more apple juice concentrate if needed, or even some sea salt and more pepper or herbs. In the last 15 minutes or so of cooking, consider the consistency – if it is too thin, you might like to add some pasta or cook it at a robust boil to reduce to desired consistency. Sprinkle with parsley before serving.
